You have Struck a Rock

Memories of my birthplace in Blackhill, Consett, Co Durham and of our neighbour , the late Susan McKinney, Matron of Bridgend Maternity Hospital Corbridge, Northumberland, England.  A nostalgic song of childhood days, and of a later visit with my then very young niece Laura Bell, to our Blackhill neighbour, Matron Susan McKinney, a legendary midwife at Corbridge.   The slow worm was real, the only time I’ve ever seen one, the snakes imaginary - there to try to protect my sisters Eileen and Cecilia against sour apple tummy ache. The ’sedge’ was in fact a variegated grass under the apple tree.  I can’t remember how many babies Susan told us she’d delivered, but it was an awful lot.  The pigeon cree was behind Mr McKinney’s henhouse at 43 St Mary’s Crescent near the electric substation.  We lived at no 41.  Susan is the nurse on the on the right of the picture.

Susan Of St Mary's Crescent

A song based of letters written from Co Tyrone to Pennsylvania at the time o the 'Little Famine' of 1879-80

Little News from Dunamore

Here’s a song that tells the tale of Abdelkhader Mesli, an Algerian hero of the French Resistance, who saved many Jewish families during the Nazi occupation of France.  It’s introduced with a snatch of the song “Jai Deux Amour” - I’ve two loves, my country & Paris”, made popular by Black American singer & dancer, Josephine Baker, also a hero of the French Resistance!

Jai Deux Amour  Abdelkhadir

Adapted from the Irish Anti-Internment song 'The Men Behind the Wire'

Armoured Cars And Drones And Guns

With acknowledgements to 'Old McDonald (was that Ramsey McDonald?) here's a 'tribute' to Labour's current leader,.

Sir Keir Starmer

Palestine Will Be Free

Break the blockade of Gaza, restore food aid now!

Food For Gaza UNWRA Version

A song in support of the people of the illegally occupied West Bank

Bulldozers & Drones & Guns With Link

A slogan borrowed from the anti apartheid struggle in South Africa

You Have Struck A Rock 2

Palestine Will Be Free 2

A song about Sam Wild of Ardwick, Manchester and later of Sheffield, commander of the British Battalion of the International Brigade in Spain's fight against fascism.

Sam Wild

A tongue in cheek karaoke of the old Tom Jones hit 'Daughter of Darkness' Not a commentary oh her tax affairs or her past addresses.

Angela Rayner

The story of a Durham miner who became an internationally famous footballer, manager and a symbol of Catalan identity.

From The Low Mown Meadows To Los Llanos

A song based on a newspaper report of a harvest home festival on 1882 at Knitsley near Consett, Co Durham.  my good friend Maurice Condy of Cullercoats is on guitar.  Words & music Michael Burns PRS

Will Reed's Barn With MC

My song about the 18th 19th century Black composer with an instrumental 'Here's the Tender Coming' intro  copyright Michael Burns

Joseph Emidy

A song celebrating some contemporary heroes 

The Far Side / People Don't Always Walk Past

'Mr Bruce Rafeek crossing the Tweed'.  Bruce, my accordion and keyboard playing friend is far too modest to play on a track with such a title, but Maurice Condy is playing, and I think his  Sobell  guitar goes well with the Small Strings mandolin.  Reposting cos I discovered a facebook 'blip' on the first recording

Mr Bruce Rafeek With MC

Two waltzes, one named after a great Lancashire character, Miss Joan Shorrocks, my wife's late, great aunt aka GAJ and the second for the wedding anniversary of my good friends, Barbara and Bill Scholes of Westhaughton.  I'm on mandolin and Bruce Rafeek is on accordion.

Miss Joan Shorrocks & Barbara & Bill's

This song came to me a few years ago but I've just added a refrain.  Based on an old newspaper cutting it fleshes out the story of an anonymous workingman .words & music copyright Michael Burns 2016  

The Maryport Mystery Or  Shotley Bridge Fair

Here's a song celebrating the courage of the Richmond 16, conscientious objectors who refused to do any war work.  They were shipped from Richmond castle to France where they were sentenced to death, the sentence commuted to 10 years.  They were eventually released in 1919.  Norman Gouldie, a Christian, was centre forward in the Sunderland reserve team.  Bill and Albert Laws, also Christians, were born in Melbourne, Australia.   Alfred Myers was a deputy in the Carlin How mine and was a member of the ILP and a Christian.  Richard Lewis Barry of  Long Eaton, Derbyshire, a socialist, appears on some articles on the 16, but not in others.  The chorus is a slight adaptation of Percy Goldbrough's verse, Percy was a member of the British Socialist Party.

We Do Not Heed Their Evil Threats

My friend Pete Stentiford, steward @ Whitby Rugby Club, told me the story of his grandparents, two jazz sax players, in summer 2015, when I was on the door for a concert during the Folk Festival.  It stayed with me, and this summer I asked if it would be OK to do a song about them.   He said yes; so here it is.  I'm a song writer in the folk tradition, but tried to get a jazz feel into this one!  Mr Bruce Rafeek on piano!

Mitch And Johnny

The Linnet And The Dove - We Sing - Updated

The Gill Bridge

A celebration of the courage of various members of the Lisle family of Cullercoats, over a number of generations, concluding with their descendant,  my dear friend of 57 years, the late Tony Lisle of Blackhill.  Thanks to Adam Holden for the use of his beautiful photo of a stormy March day at the mouth of the Tyne.

The Lisles of Cullercoats

Quite a few years back I was lucky enough to be in a summer school class led by the mercurial Armagh whistle player, Brian Finnegan of Flook, Brian is a product of the great Armagh Pipers’ Club which has done so much to foster traditional music.  Brian told us of the sport of road bowling or ‘shooting the bullet’ once popular throughout these islands but now confined to the Irish counties of Armagh & Cork.  Under the original rules, competitors had 20 attempts – a score – of throws to propel a solid iron ball, or bullet down a country lane.  Whoever made the furthest distance, whoever had the best score won.  A left hander is known as a 'kithogue  paw'.  As the small cannon ball is flung, the warning cry, ‘Fág a' bealach!’; – ‘Clear the road’ goes up.  This song tells of an imagined encounter between my ancestor, a coachman, and my friend & former workmate Rosie’s gt gt gt uncle, a highwayman.   Drumlins are the small hills which dominate the landscape between Armagh & Co Monaghan.    The large Lambeg drum (named after a village in Co Antrim) is beaten at Orange Marches.  Portadown is a mainly Protestant town one of the first places where an Orange Lodge was founded, not the place where a Catholic coachman, perhaps whistling a nationalist tune should linger ...

Chatting To Rosie with intro

Tir na nOg

A Jig for my beautiful niece Alex Greenwood

All 'A's for Alex

A tribute to rebellious youth and to international solidarity.

Edelweiss Piraten

Mulespinners Cottrels We

Sean Morgan

What use is a train that runs from Stalybridge to Stockport only once a week? And which starts its return journey only 10 minutes after arriving at Stockport ... Let's use the railway to connect Denton with Manchester, Stockport & other towns in the area!  Thanks to Maurice Condie for his fine guitar accompaniment.

Unknown album (17/11/2020 13:27:03)

Weekly Train

 Traditional song, with new chorus borrowed from the Pete Morton Song 'The Journeyman'

Paddy works on the Railway with Journeyman chorus

A great Local song by Samuel Cottrell of Stalybridge 1799-1837

Mottram Wakes

Hi I'm from Blackhill, Consett in Co Durham, but have lived in Manchester for quite a few years now.  My music is influenced by the Irish, Scottish and Northumbrian traditions, as well as by more contemporary writers. 

Michael Burns 1

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